Extraction
by Chi-Chiwawa
Summary: "No!  When I start something, I do not leave until I finish!"  She protests.  "But those chemicals are dangerous, you don't know what could happen if it touched you!"  Bianca tries to reason.  T for probable violence in later chapters. Inspired by daziyly
1. Prologue

**HIIIIIII! This is my second story. I saw daziyly's new story (I had already read the first one), and it inspired me to do my own AU powerpuff story. I hope you guys enjoy, and please review! Oh, and try to guess which Powerpuff's which in the first section of the story, ;).**

Prologue:

Why am I here, Professor Utonium?" A brunette impatiently demanded. A new species of Plankton had been discovered in the Chemical unit. It had a natural-born chemical in it that would help form a medicine that would cure the most recent disease. The brown-haired woman had been assigned to extract the chemical in an hour. But Professor John Utonium Sr had requested her help on a project in the "People's Products" Unit. Honestly, she respected the elderly man, but she couldn't miss the extraction.

The gray-headed man spoke, "I am creating a legal steroid for soldiers. It'll enhance their strength, agility, speed and intelligence twofold, but not so much that they will be superhuman. I thought someone of your experience might be able to help, Bethany." Aforementioned girl sighed.

"Alright, I guess I can stay for a while."

They got to work, mixing chemicals and forming concoctions. Utonium Sr was a bit shaky as he worked, but Bethany helped. Bethany looked to the clock: 15 minutes left. She let out a sound of anxiety, and looked to their potion: it was a blackberry purple color, with a small smoke coming from it. It only needed a few more ingredients.

The door behind them opened, and the two scientists turned to see Professor John Utonium Jr walk in. He had jet black hair, he was tall and slender, and he had on a white lab coat with long black pants, and he had a pipe hanging out of his mouth, unlit. He was in his early thirties, about a decade older than Bethany.

"Hello, father. Scientist Evers," he curtly greeted while walking over, his long, slim legs bringing him to them in seconds. Bethany turned back to the potion as the sound of Utonium Jr's feet clacking on the floor got closer. She picked up her writing pad, and took notes on the potion:

_"Matter turning darker and darker as more ingredients are mixed in._

_Looks thick and pure. When turned over (with steel cap on to keep it in), matter falls to bottom at a moderate speed. Confirmed that it is not watery but is also not too thick._

_Based on thickness, size of shot is thought to be half an ounce. Likely prescription would be one shot every four years. Should not be tested on anyone under the age of..."_

Bethany paused. How young WOULD be too young?

"How is the project coming along?" Utonium Jr asked, resting chemicals (in containers, of course) and mixtures onto the table. Bethany blinked: how did he know what to get?

"Oh thanks, son. Project's going well, just need to add these last few ingredients," John Sr responded kindly. The door again opened, and in walked Intern Bianca Simmons. Bethany's brown eyes turned to the dirty blonde. The girl was a bit shorter than her; she had greenish-blue eyes, and a petite figure. Bethany was quite tall, a bit over 6'1, with some curves, but nothing big.

"Hi!" she energetically greeted. Bianca was one of the more lively people in the Whitaker Science Department of London. She always brightened people's days, like a breath of fresh air. Bethany lightly smiled at the 20- year old.

"Hello, Bianca. You seem happy today," She noted.

"I am! I get to witness the extraction! I heard you get to do it, though! Good for you! Oh, Professor John Jr, they need you down in the Chemical Unit," Bianca said, turning to the handsome young scientist. It's as though he didn't hear her.

"Bethany, can you do just one more thing for me and then you can go?" Utonium Sr requested. Bethany nodded fervently and turns her back to the potion to listen: 25 minutes left.

"Mix in the last few chemicals and add a teaspoon of it to the potion. If too much of those chemicals go into the solution, it would add too much power to the human being shot. Come with me to the office and I'll get you the recipes for the mixtures," he gestured.

John Jr and Bianca watch them leave, and the younger Utonium wrote a few more things down. Bianca looked over his shoulder to the papers. "Whatcha working on?" she asked. John Jr jumped, and puts the papers back in the folder. "Err, papers for the extraction," is his curt response.

Bianca let out an "oh," happy to be so close to the young professor. One of the main reasons she became an intern was to work with him. Despite the age difference of a few years over ten, she had a huge crush on him.

"So, did you hear me? They want you down in the Chemical Unit," she repeated. This time his head perked up, and he immediately walked to the door silently. Bianca watched, and then skittered off after him. When they reach the door, Bianca turned and went in a different direction, shouting, "I'll go get you some coffee!" But not too long after both had turned around the corner, the door to the lab once more opened, and there's a click-clack of someone's slow feet walking across the floor, straight to the potion.

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There is a knock on the door of the office that Bethany and John Sr were in. Both of them looked up in mild surprise at the urgency of the knock.

"Uh, professor Long-Johns, there's a problem going on in your lab," a loud female voice shouted from the other side of the door. John Sr opened the door to see Benalia Smith, a worker in the "Misc. Science" Unit.

They worked on spare things, like building Microscopes, making simple solutions, and building machines for tests. But they didn't normally have things to do, so they naturally sat about in their office, either going to mail things for people or finding extra things to do.

Most people started there and work their way up, but Benalia, or Benny, preferred working there. She reached Bethany's chin in height, and she had more curves, but she had the figure of a woman who plays sports, which she did. She had awkward-looking black hair in a bob, and light green eyes.

Utonium Sr blinked cautiously, almost expectantly, "What problem?"

In seconds, they were rushing to the lab, and found it filled with foam. In the middle of the ruins was the potion. It was dark black with green liquids swirling in it, along with neon green foam flying out of it. At its rate, it was not about to stop soon. Bethany rushed to it, ignoring the warnings from Benny and John Sr. She had started this project, and she wasn't about to give up on it.

"Hey, guys. You should've seen the extraction! It looked really cool from the microscope! But it was strange, because the first filled vile disappeared and-" Bianca stopped when she saw the inside of the lab.

Bethany turned back to her, crestfallen. "The extraction was already made?" she asked.

Bianca's eyes widened. "Yes, and you're standing right in it! That foam is the exact color of the plankton chemical! Someone must've mixed it into the potion!" she shouted in horror, before rushing in and grabbing Bethany's hand.

"Come on, get out!" She urged, pulling on her hand, but Bethany would not budge.

"No! When I start something, I do not leave until I finish!" She protested.

"But those chemicals are dangerous, you don't know what could happen if it touched you!" Bianca reasoned, still pulling. Benny, exasperated, ran in and grabbed them both.

"If _neither_ of you get out, we'll _ALL _be killed, now let's go!" she pulled them both to the door.

All of a sudden, there was a pop sound as harsh as a gunshot, and the solution is flown everywhere, landing on the women. They all screamed.

They once again tried to get out, but the door shut, and the foam started building up in the room, rising quickly. The three females look up in alarm to see John Sr looking at them in guilt.

"I'm sorry girls, but you've been infected with the potion and the plankton chemical. Alone, that chemical is very dangerous. I'm afraid you girls won't survive this or you'll infect all of us," he shouts through the glass, "Look at yourselves!"

The three girls looked down at their skin, and saw themselves glowing green. They ran to the door.

"Please, Professor Utonium, don't do this!" Bianca pleads. The foam had risen to their ankles.

John Sr shook his head. "I'm sorry girls, but I have no other choice." With that, he turns and disappears.

The girls watch him in horror as the foamy liquid reaches their knees, the chemicals biting at their heels. With every nip of the foam, Bethany felt her eyes droop, but she forced herself to stay awake. She was not going to go out without a fight.

As the potion reached her thighs, biting at her skin, she listened and continuously jumped at the sting of the solution as Benny repeatedly banged on the window, screaming for someone to let us out.

"What if nobody comes?" Bianca whimpered, shivering at the harsh nip of the foam. Benny shook her head.

"Don't think like that. Someone will come," Benny grunted as she pushed against the door, ignoring the painful chemicals as best she could.

Bethany stood there, facing ahead. They wouldn't make it; she knew that for a fact. But even as the foam reached her waist, she wasn't completely concerned on their situation. She was thinking about who _put_ her in that situation.

'Who could've done this? Who **would've** done this?' Bethany stared at the door, deep in thought.

The liquid reached her shoulders and the other two girls were struggling to stay above the foam.

They were glowing even deeper now. Everything around them was bright neon green. As the foam reached her lips, Bethany thought her last thoughts: Why would they do this? The smallest drop of the liquid that seeped into her mouth was enough to knock her out.

Not two minutes after the girls had died, the same person came back to the lab. Taking out a vile, they filled it with some of the potion that had poured from a tiny crack in the door. They closed it with a cap, and a deep chuckle came from their throat. It accelerated to a laugh, and soon his evil laughter roared through the hallways, all while the girls' bodies floated around the room, bubbles of chemicals piercing their skin.

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><p>Bethany's POV:<p>

Where am I? Why do I feel weird? Why can't I open my eyes?

I slowly wiggle around. Strangely, my body doesn't move at a normal speed. It feels like I'm somewhere... Zero-gravitational.

Finally, my eyes open, but I'm wrapped in net... And in a coffin. My eyes widen and I wiggle even more urgently. But as the net starts to rip, another thing catches my eye; I see an air bubble float to the top of the coffin, fervently and shakily.

My eyes go from the bubble to the coffin several times before it clicks; I'm underwater. Oh dear god. I immediately close my mouth, and then realize what I'm doing.

I can breathe just fine. Okay, so this is really weird. But, I'm dead. Is this how it feels? I sigh, and hesitantly take in another breath.

Nothing.

I can still breathe.

No, I'm sure I'm not dead. I can't be dead. This way is illogical. I have to get out, see the surface. What if I'm alive? I put my hands on the coffin top, take a deep breath, and push with all my might as the last of the net rips from my skin. It's as though I'm touching a feather, and the speed that the coffin leaves my hand and flies to the surface makes me clumsily flail upwards, my arms flying around.

I look around; I'm definitely underwater. I watch the beautiful fish swim about. I would've been amazed if I wasn't freaking out.

I look around, shocked, and push off the ground, swimming to the top. However, before I can even move one hand to start paddling, I'm above water. I widen my eyes and look around, confused. I must be asleep. But why, though, do I feel completely alert? And why do I feel... Powerful?

I start kicking my legs to stay afloat, but then a large ripple forms above the water. I stare at it for a few seconds in question, and it clicks; am I really kicking that hard? I look above the ripple, and finally notice the desolation and ruins around me.

The world looks as though it has inched closer to the sun. The sky is red and orange and slightly colored with smoke.

Frantically, I look around. What happened here? How long have I been…. Dead?

I shudder. That word feels so unreal, considering I was once dead, but now I'm alive? Seriously, how did this….. THE CHEMICALS! They must've put me in a stasis for some time. But, the thing is, how _long_ was "some time"? As I think, I stop kicking and slowly start sinking.

Realizing what I was doing, I once again push myself up, but this time I kick hard enough that I fly up and _out_ of the water, shooting high in the air. For a second I stare in awe as the sky became closer in reach, but then the push ended and I was falling.

I then turn and see the ocean rapidly approaching; I scream in horror. My body helplessly flails around, trying to stupidly stop myself from falling. I close my eyes, waiting for impact. But suddenly my body stops, and I hesitantly reopen my eyes.

I'm stuck in mid-air. My face turns into stone as I stare dumbfounded at the ocean, and how it has not captured me in it embrace as it should have.

I look around, wondering if someone miraculously saved me. No one. I am floating- on my own, in the middle of nowhere- as though it's nothing. I take a deep breath, and let out an ear-piercing scream, that sounded terrifyingly younger than _**my **_voice.

It blows against the water, forming a crater, and fish close to the surface rush back down. As the water clears, I see a reflection in the water. But it's not mine.

It.

Is.

_Not_.

**Mine**.

It couldn't be mine.

There, in the reflection, is a girl. Approximately seventeen years old. She has vibrant and striking red hair that's long enough to reach her hips. She's pretty tall from what I can see, about 5'6. She has curves, but she's not busty.

She has beautiful and slightly tanned skin. Her face is toned, and she has high cheek bones that make her look mature, but not like an adult. She's wearing a ripped white dress with a worn out black belt. She has no shoes on, and her hair, despite its lovely color and life, looks ragged, like a bed head.

However, one detail on the girl's face that surprises me most, is her eyes; bright and insightful, full of life and curiosity, and obviously frightened and confused. They were a bright pink. This _is _me. I can't believe it.

Was the potion _**this **_powerful?

I move forward to take a closer look, but I don't know how to control this strange deformity and I plummet straight into the pinching cold water. I groan as I try to push my long hair out of my face. How did I not notice that before?

Suddenly, I hear another scream of shock, a familiar one. I blink, and I feel excitement run through me as I realize that I'm not alone; it's Bianca!

Urgently, I swim in the direction of her scream, a pink streak behind me. It takes me a second to register how loud that scream actually was. It was basically super-sonic!

I'm swimming so frantically that I almost forget my new-found strength. I slowly calm myself down as I realize that my paddles are forming tsunamis behind me.

I'm several miles from where I last was and I haven't been swimming for over two minutes yet. My hair forms a sea of red behind me as I glide through the water like a seal. I think I'm starting to like these supernatural abilities.

I keep swimming until I see Bianca; at least, I _think _that's Bianca. She's looking around, utterly confused. I can tell she's freaking out. I know how she feels, I still don't understand it completely. But at least I have something logical to back up on.

She sees me approaching, and her face almost brightens, but then she's repelling, not completely sure if I'm who she thinks it is. "Don't worry Bianca; it's me, Bethany," I soothe. With that, she attacks me into a hug, a blue streak left behind.

She seems to be 15, and she's still short, only about 5'1. Her hair, from what I can see, is a stunning blonde, her hair obviously abnormally bright even though it's covered in seaweed. It stops beneath her armpits. She has more curves than me, but she also is not busty.

She is petite, and has striking electric blue **(A/N: My fave color!)** eyes. She is baby-faced, and has plump cheeks just begging to be pinched. She's squealing into my shoulder, making me roll my eyes with a smile on my face.

"Oh, Bethany! I thought I was alone! Why am I so young? Where are we? How come I have powers? I thought we were dead!" she starts rambling in a voice that was a bit high for her age, yet it wasn't irritating.

"It's alright, it's alright! We _were_ dead, so to speak, but we were revived," I respond.

"Revived? By what? And where's Benny?"

I blink; where _was _Benny?

Suddenly, the ocean started to rumble, and we looked at each other in terror. "What's going on?" Bianca asks fearfully. I shake my head.

"I don't know."

Suddenly, we hear a loud grunt of effort, and we turn in one direction to see large ripples forming repeatedly on both sides of a figure in the water; it's Benny. She paddles quickly, coming in our direction with determination and fear in her eyes. There's a sea of her green streak as she comes.

I see two triangular shapes in the space behind her but I don't know what they are. She seems to notice us, and she swims even quicker to us. She barely manages to stop in front of us.

"Benny!" Bianca happily greets, but I can tell that now's not the time for heartfelt reunions.

"No time. There are two things chasing after us. I don't know what they are, but based on their roar I don't think I want to. We have to get going," she urges us. We turn and start swimming, not even bothering to see what was actually chasing us. Since we're still not accustomed to our abilities, we aren't able to go as fast as we can, allowing the strange roaring monsters to catch up.

My newly-attained extraordinary hearing comes in, and I hear one of animals get ready to jump at me. Before I can even react, a reflex causes me to turn and swiftly kick it in the face, throwing it back. I blink at what I had just done, and keep moving, even though one of his teeth has ripped off a piece of the cloth on my dress.

I'm _terrible_ at fighting. I took Martial Arts when I was twelve and **hated** it. So what was THAT? Yeesh, the whole "chemicals kicking in" excuse is beginning to taste a bit stale on my tongue, but I'm sure that's what all of this is.

The thing behind me growls, and comes again. Suddenly the second monster gains and swims in front of us, blocking us off from escape. We get a good look at it; it's a metallic shark, with steel, cringingly needle-sharp teeth, and a body as long as two school buses lined up.

We have no choice. We have to fight.

Benny wastes no time and charges at one of them with a war cry, sending a kick to its jaw that sends it flying out of the water. Bianca sees one approaching, and slowly moves back. I can tell she's afraid.

"Don't worry, Bianca. I'm sure that we're stronger than those things, you can beat him," I reassure. She looks at me, hesitant. Then she looks behind me.

"Bethany, look out!" One of the sharks suddenly body-slam me, knocking the breath out of me and sending me underwater.

"BETHANY!" I hear Bianca cry above, and she rushes under.

The metallic shark machine charges at me to go for the death bite, only to be slammed by an angry Bianca. She screams a loud, intimidating shriek that almost scares me. Her voice vibrates in the water as she rapidly punches it:

"IF! YOU! DARE! TOUCH! BETHANY! I! WILL! PERSONALLY! TURN! YOU! TO! **SCRAP**!" She bellows.

I almost shrink as she sends one last blow, and it flies into the sand, forming a crater. Nothing but scrap metal now. I turn to Bianca, whom was looking at the job she did with pride. She swims to me, a boastful look on her face while I stare in shock.

"I like our powers!"

We once again hear Benny grunt, and we look to see her struggling with the second shark, holding her hands on his mouth to keep him from crushing her. So far, the shark is winning. This one is twice as big as the first, his metal a clear silver, making him almost blend with the ocean if he swims fast enough.

I frantically search for a weak spot; there has to be _something_ that could be a weakness. I then notice screws between the two mouth flaps, if you could call them lips. I swim to the one on the left, and Bianca, realizing what I was doing, goes to the one on the right. We both pull, and the screws fly out.

"Now, Benny!"

She takes the initiative and reaches deep in his throat, where no teeth will pierce her. Once she gets a good grip, she starts to rip the shark apart.

Bianca and I watch in awe as the machine turns to shreds, while it screams bloody murder. Benny lets out a groan of exhaustion, and then completely rips the shark into two, carelessly throwing the parts away. She swims up to us, and turns to me.

"Listen, Leader girl. I don't know what's going on here, because you and I both know that we're supposed to be dead. Or, at least, we're not supposed to look like we're a re-do of 'Seventeen Again.' So, I would just like to know WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE?" She bellows, her voice vibrating off into the distance, but it doesn't disturb any fish. They were long gone once they felt the commotion. I take a close look at Benny:

Her black hair is now deep in volume and it stops at her shoulders. Her once dull eyes are now pure and deep, a nice dark forest green. Her face is also toned, and she has apple cheeks that accent her sporty look. She has the most curves that look small based on her height, which is about 5'4. She, along with Bianca and I, was also wearing the white ripped dress and black belt. Benny's skin was tanner than mine, while Bianca's skin was porcelain.

"Okay, okay. I know that this is very confusing. I still don't completely understand it myself. All that I know is that the chemicals had the power to revive us and give us powers. Somehow they might've made us younger, but I don't know that for sure," I explain, and they sigh, deep in thought.

"But for now, let's try to find land and see if we can get answers," I suggest, and we swim to the surface. I remember when I had first woken up and I had stayed in mid-air. Does that mean I can fly? I jump above the surface, and start falling again. The girls scream my name, asking what I was thinking. But I was determined. Moments before I hit the water, I motivated myself. _Stop!_

As if on command, my body froze, and I was floating again. I smile brightly and looke to the girls, who were watching in wonder. _Forward!_ My body listens again, and my body flew forward. My grin grows wider and excitement rushes through me. _Bank left!_

_Upwards!_

_Spin!_

_Loop!_

_Dive!_

Before long, my mind commanded my body naturally and I easily glide across the sky.

"Wow, how do you do that?" Bianca asks, and I look to them.

"Just command your body through your thoughts. It works!"

They look at each other, then themselves. In seconds, they were in the sky, flying over to me. I smile at them toothily.

"Come on, let's find land!"

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Third Person POV, somewhere far off:

A man looks at the screen on his computer, bored. There was absolutely nothing exciting about this job, especially when you work for an evil leader. But suddenly, something appears on his screen:

_**Warning: **__Project "Mandatory" has failed. Project "Mandatory" has failed. _

The man sat up straight in his chair; it had finally happened! He looks around cautiously, and is about to close the window when a shadow appears behind him.

"What is that, Maxwell?"

The man inwardly curses. "A warning," he says nonchalantly, and the shadow leans in to see the screen. Maxwell watches him go rigid.

"No…. NO!"

He turns and rushes off, and the man turns back to the screen, hope filled in his eyes.

"I have faith in you girls."

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Bethany's POV:

_"Who __**are**__ these girls?"_

_"I don't know, but they're hot!"_

_"You think they're going to wake up any time soon?"_

_"Not sure… hey, one of them's stirring!"_

_"Yeah, they're all waking up!"_

I groan, and come to. I immediately see bunches of faces staring back at me.

"AHH!" I shout in alarm, and jump back, waking up Bianca and Benny beside me. They look from me to the kids staring at us, and the kids smile. One of them walks forward.

"Hi there, I'm Mitch! Welcome to the Rogues."

**ANNNNNNND DONE! I hoped you guys liked it, and I hope dazily gets to read this. Please review, and I'll get chapter two up as soon as possible! **


	2. The Rogues

**Hi! Thank you to all the reviewers! I know what you're thinking: **_**'What year is it? Who's President?**_**' **

**I am truly sorry that I took so long to update, but I was busy fixing a chap for my other story. I hope this makes up for it, though!**

**As we go on, I will start answering reviews, but for now let's keep going! I'm sure all of you know which powerpuff's which, but who do you think the boys will be? Read and find out!**

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><p><strong>Bethany's POV:<strong>

Benny is the first to react. "Rogues? What are the Rogues?"

The boy, Mitch, blinks in surprise and slight annoyance. "What do you mean 'What are the Rogues?' We're the reason you're here, right?" His voice is deep and raspy, but I suppose one could find it attractive.

Benny opens her mouth to retort, but I cut her off, "Of course we're here to be part of the Rogues! I mean, if we can join. It was just…. Er, quite a trip to get here, and we're all worn down. My friend over there just can't remember anything! A small case of amnesia is what it is," I say quickly; it takes everything in me not to gape.

How did I think of that so quickly? I can't _lie_! Everybody knew that when we were back in the lab. I can see Benny and Bianca staring at me; even _**they**_ knew.

'_It'll enhance… and intelligence twofold'_

Wow. That steroid mixed with the plankton chemical must've really jumpstarted the potion.

"Dude, what are ya? British? Your accent is weird!" Mitch comments, bringing me from my thoughts. I then notice the obvious American sound of his voice. Ahhh, they're Yanks. I'm about to respond that I am from the U.K. (Or whatever it is now), when Mitch speaks again:

"Wait, if you're from R.K., then you must be spies! Well too bad for _Mr. Redhead _because you won't be returning to his Kingdom! Grab them boys!" Four boys come from the crowd, and I immediately jump to action.

"Hey, hey!" I shout, and the four ruffians momentarily stop. I take a few seconds to analyze Mitch's voice; deep and lazy, calm and laid-back. I then twist it into a tone that'll fit my voice, and speak.

"Calm down, we were just kidding! We're not from Britain; we're not even from the R.K.! Yeesh, stop being such a stone and loosen up!" I tease, amused.

Mitch looks at me for a second, mildly surprised. He's obviously still cautious, and my smile is about to waver when he gives in and grins widely. He's obviously naïve.

"Well, then. Welcome to the Rogues! Sorry about being so wary, we've just had a bunch of spies recently. You guys just look British, though. Got any relatives from there?"

I shake my head.

"Not that I know of. Like I said, long trip; we're all tired. As for my friends, we don't completely know what the Rogues are. We just wanted to come. Do you mind explaining, cause…"

I trail off when I see the wary look on his face come back. Too soon?

Finally, Benny and Bianca make themselves known.

"Err, listen kid. Mitch, was it? I'm really tired, redhead over there is blabbing nonsense, and I just really-"

Benny sees my facial expression and rewords her thoughts,

"… I'm just really tired. We encountered a shark; tough escape. We came here because of our little Blondie. So can you _please explain _what the Rogues are, again?"

I nod my head in approval. She seems to have taken on an impressive American accent. Bianca looks to Benny and whispers,

"I don't understand why he's so hesitant. What makes him think that we're spies?"

Mitch groans. "Ok, so you're obviously not spies. All the spies we've had were terrible actors, but if you guys are lying you've obviously nailed it. Robin, find them some rooms and explain."

A girl steps forward, and I look her over. She was a short brunette with piercing, almost pupil-less blue eyes that watch me cautiously. She was about 5'2, and was wearing a black sleeveless shirt with dull green khaki shorts.

With a terse "follow me," the girl, Robin, walks off. After a few seconds, Benny, Bianca and I awkwardly follow, trying our best to ignore the eyes boring into us as we pass. I subconsciously pull down the edges of my dress. It doesn't do much, the dress is already past my knees, but I still feel self-conscious. Thank goodness the rips don't show any skin that I'd rather keep hidden.

Mitch seems to notice our discomfort, because he immediately addresses it, his freckles dancing as he crinkles his nose.

"Hey, stop staring and get to work! Yeah, they're people; you've seen plenty of them! Now go!" Immediately the crowds disperse, and I silently thank the brown-haired boy.

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As we walk, I analyze our surroundings: we were underground. Everything around us was one big tunnel. The tunnel itself was wide: from one side to another, it was about the length of a skyscraper on its side. I cock my head to the side; how long did this take to make?

I look up to the cracked cement ceiling. The pale gray of the ceiling, mixed with the bright, flickering white lights attached to it illuminated the floor of the tunnel, which was simply covered in slightly dusty white tiles.

"Aa-aa-AAACHOO!" We all turn and look at Bianca as she smiles back sheepishly. "Sorry."

Ok, really dusty white tiles.

As we continue, I look up at Robin; she still hasn't said anything. I narrow my eyes slightly. It's her responsibility to inform us, so why isn't she? I open my mouth to speak, but she beats me to it as she stops and turns to look at us. I look around; the closest person is several yards away, though if I squint it looks like they're right next to me.

"Ok, listen. I know that you're British, but I know that you aren't spies. So don't deny anything. My only question; why did you lie?"

Bianca speaks. "Well, we thought that if you knew that we were from the… R.K., was it? Well, yeah. If you knew, then you might've not accepted us because we really know nothing about where we are."

Robin cocks her head to the side. "I don't understand."

"What she means is being British + wanting to know more about where we are= spy. But we aren't spies," Benny explains, agitated. Robin looks at us in shock.

"You know nothing about the Rogues?" she asks, dumbfounded. We all shake our heads. "How?"

I sigh. "You wouldn't believe nor understand why."

Robin snorts. "Well, we aren't exactly on a time schedule."

I narrow my eyes once more. "Fine, let's make a deal. You explain what the Rogues are and we'll explain afterwards."

She stares all three of us down for a few minutes, deep in thought. She sighs in frustration, and finally nods. "Follow me. I still need to find you rooms."

I resist the urge to smirk in victory, and follow her, Bianca and Benny trailing behind. As Robin walks, she begins to explain.

"There's really not much to tell about the Rogues. Basically, a year or two after the takeover, a few months before Blue was created; one man had started a rebellion group. He had originally been X's assistant, but he somehow managed to escaped. Once he was gone, he sent a wave of black-outs across the country, allowing children to escape as well. When that happened, he recruited as many as he could find until the power returned, before leading them all underground. Since then we've been planning how to bring down the Tri-Kingdoms."

I stare at her blankly, and I'm sure that Bianca and Benny are doing the same. I barely notice that we had stopped. We were in a thinner hallway, with doors on either side. The doors were barely even doors; despite the metal walls, the doors were just thick curtains, each a different pattern or color.

Taking a closer look at the edges of the metal, I notice that the metal was a bit sloppily cut. They must've formed the frames manually. I couldn't see the behind the curtains, though.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What's the Takeover, who's Blue, who's X, what are the Tri-Kingdoms and what's this talk about a rebellion?" Benny demands, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes. Couldn't have said it better myself.

Robin's jaw drops as she realizes we're not joking. Slowly, her face turns from disbelief to anger, and she growls at us.

"Oh, you're a _Royal_, aren't you? A despicable _**Royal**_. Trying to join the Rogues when you don't understand half of the past? You don't _deserve_ the honor!"

I stand there, taken aback. Benny looks ready to tackle her, and Bianca looks about to cry.

"What are you talking about? We aren't Royals; we don't even know what those are! Back off, you don't know what we've been through!" Benny growls.

"Oh, I don't need to. You petty little brats have been pampered all your life and you dare say 'you don't know what we've been through'? Several people have _died_ in this depression and you just go 'oh, such a shame'!"

Robin and Benny are in each other's faces now.

"You better watch your mouth, Cockatoo!"

"It's ROBIN, _BLACKIE_!"

"It's **Benny**, and don't you _dare_ call me petty and pampered! _**WE**_ have it worse than you!"

"Oh, I doubt it! What'd you do, break a nail? Fall off the table during plastic surgery and have to get another nose because you broke the one you just got? I bet you squealed like a baby!"

Benny's face is red, and I know that Robin has struck a nerve. Bianca has recoiled into a corner, sobbing quietly.

"Oh, really? Well _**SORRY**_ for being ASLEEP FOR SEVERAL STINKIN' YEARS!"

The sound of Benny's fist piercing the wind reaches me, and Benny only gets the chance to wield her fist back before I jump forward and grab it.

"SHUT UP, **BOTH** OF YOU!" I shove them away from each other. Benny catches her balance a few steps back, but Robin flies several feet away, landing on her rear with an "Oomph!"

I turn my back to both of them and go to comfort Bianca, whose face is red as she cries.

Robin has risen from the floor, and is looking at us, her jaw hanging as she stares at us in confusion and disbelief.

"What do you mean… asleep for several years?" She asks as she approaches us cautiously.

"I don't see what's so difficult to understand," Benny lowly growls, cracking her knuckles and neck. I merely raise my hand in her direction, as a signal to warn her to calm down. My face is hard, and I don't know for sure, but I think it's red. My eyebrows are furrowed as I watch Robin and Benny sternly. But Robin doesn't seem to be getting angry.

Bianca is slowly calming down, but she still hiccups, and I hold her closer to my chest in sympathy. I barely notice that we've sunken to the floor.

"You're lying."

I sigh in frustration. The girl is slowly starting to get on my nerves, although I know she's not on purpose. I'm still having trouble believing it myself.

Benny is obviously ready to burst, so I speak quickly.

"Listen, I know it's hard to believe, and you're probably not going to, but we're not…" I take a look at Bianca and Benny before speaking again, "Normal."

Robin snorts, but softly apologizes when she sees my expression.

"You might want to sit down; this is a lot to explain."

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By the time I've finished explaining, Robin is looking at us with her lips in a straight line. Her eyebrows are raised and she watches us with a lazy, disbelieving look in her eyes. She leans forward from the wall that she's sitting against, and stares at us, her eyes half-lidded.

"A plankton chemical? Really? You expect me to believe that you got powers- or have powers at all- from a _plankton_ chemical?"

I resist the urge to smile at the mordant "Are-you-crazy" expression on her face. In response to her question, all three of us float into the air, simultaneously. Her jaw drops, and I can't hold back the grin as she stares at us, baffled. She slowly rises, and my grin deepens as I straighten out my dress.

"Ha-Buh-Duh... What?" She stammers, flabbergasted. She blinks repeatedly as her almost non-existent pupils triple in size. She grows wobbly and leans on the wall for support. I see a chair a couple feet away, and focus on it.

_Come to me._

As though hypnotized, the wooden chair slowly slides across the floor. I concentrate completely on it, willing it to keep coming. I must've slightly lost focus, for it flips and smacks on the floor, making creaks as it kept coming. I cringe. Ok, so I'm a bit sloppy, but can you blame someone who just got their powers hours ago?

Finally the chair is upright, and is directly next to Robin, who just now notices it and flinches.

"Have a seat."

She does so, with her head in her hands. She seems deep in thought. Bianca, Benny and I float back to the ground; patiently waiting for her to get her thoughts together (at least, Bianca and I were waiting patiently). Just when we thought we'd be waiting forever, Robin's head snaps up and her finger is pointing in the air as though she's had a light bulb moment.

"Wait a second, what did you say the names of the scientists you worked with were?"

We blink, and look at each other. I speak.

"Professor Utonium Jr and Sr, why?"

Robin brightly smiles, and takes me and Bianca's arm, dragging us down the hallway. Benny follows, curious.

We go down several hallways, passing so many doors that I can't even remember where ours were. After many minutes of being pulled in different directions, we stop in front of a wall. There's a door, but this door's made of metal.

The cut of the door frame is perfect, and the wall of the room forms a dead end in the hallway. The wall is very wide and tall, and the door is huge.

As we stand there in awe, Robin steps up and knocks on the metal, her face full of an emotion that I can't fully identify. We stand there for a minute or two, and I'm slowly starting to wonder who she's knocking for and why they haven't answered yet. But right as I'm about to comment on it, the door creeps open, and my jaw drops when I see the hunched over man in the doorway.

It's Utonium Sr.

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We're all sitting on a chair in the living room; Robin next to Utonium Sr, Bianca, Benny and I across from them. Utonium Sr is staring at us (after we had explained everything), a mixture of shock, happiness and disbelief in his eyes as he analyzes us. Bianca is smiling back at him brightly, Benny shows signs of a half-smile and I'm basically grinning. Back at the Science Department, I had always had a father-daughter relationship with John Sr.

He had taught me about so many chemicals, and how to make certain concoctions that I would need for many experiments. I was working in the top department before I knew it, and it was all thanks to him. He was always such a kind man, and I had always looked up to him.

He raises his fingers, and points to all of us. His finger goes to me.

"Bethany."

His finger goes to my left at the grinning blonde.

"Bianca."

And he finally points to Benny, who's having trouble holding back a smile.

"Benalia."

Benny smirks at him playfully.

"It's Benny, Long Johns."

John Sr lightly chuckles, and I take the chance to ask what's been bugging us all.

"John… What happened after we died?"

His face goes stern, and I quickly go to apologize before he puts up his hand.

"It's alright. You guys need to know. You guys remember the potion that killed you, right?"

We all nod. How could we not?

"Well, someone had filled a vile with the concoction, and had put the building under lockdown. Everyone panicked, and had moved down to the… to the main floor."

His voice is a bit raspy and he pauses, but I still wait patiently for him to continue. He truly has aged a bit.

"Since all the materials had been left in the open, that person, who goes by X now, had the freedom to… do what he wanted. And what he wanted was not… not something g-good."

"What did he do?" Bianca asks.

"Using different materials he found in other labs, X made a super concoction. He created a superhuman."

We all stare at him in shock and confusion.

"He _created_ a superhuman?" I ask quizzically.

"Basically. After escaping the building, he used the potion to alter a boy about 2 years old."

We all gape at him. Even Robin. I suppose she hadn't known all the details.

"What happened to him?" Benny asks.

"He knocked out, or 'died,' like you. After that, he went into hiding, and altered another boy a year later, and another a year after. The first boy woke up after five years of submission. The second woke up a year later, as did the third a year later. Each woke up at the age of twelve, and now the first boy is 17."

"So the second is 16," Benny adds.

"And the third is 15," Bianca concludes. We all look at each other; that's how old we are. Well, that's how old we are now, anyway.

"Yes. When they first woke up, they were creations of destruction. They started the Takeover, taking over several different parts of the world. We fought back, and millions of people lost their lives, but X and his army of three still won. Red took over Europe, Blue took South America, and Green took North America-"

"Who's Blue?" Bianca asks the second time that day.

"And Red?" I add, puzzled.

"And Green?" Benny finishes, scrunching her nose.

"Oh, those are the boys that X altered. Red's the oldest, Green's second and Blue's third. Rumors say that they're named Brick, Butch and Boomer but we don't know which one's which."

A revelation hits me. Red was created the year I died. Five years later he woke up at twelve. And now he's 17. 17-12= 5. 5+5…

"We've been asleep for 10 YEARS?" I blurt out.

Everyone looks to me: Robin, Bianca and Benny in shock, John Sr in agreement.

"Yes, unfortunately. You guys… missed so much. Everyone missed you, as well. T-Then when the lockdown occurred minutes later, everyone thought someone had killed you on purpose. When they had the Takeover years later… everyone who worked here thought it must've been true. But it wasn't."

I cock my head to the side. "How would you know?"

Finally it clicks in my head what the expression Robin had on her face was: admiration.

"B-Because I was X's assistant."

We all stare at him in shock. "_You_ were X's assistant?" Bianca sputters.

"Yes, but not volun… tarily. The man had heard about me in the building and kid… Kidnapped me, forcing me to become his assistant," John Sr's face turns slightly red in anger, "It took me years to escape, but I made it out of there. Since then X has been tracking… Me down, but he hasn't got me."

I blink once more. If he was X's assistant…

"You started the Rogues?"

He smiles slightly, and nods.

"Yes, indeed. After the Takeover, everyone was monitored; from school… to home… even to the… graveyards. Being the Head Assistant, X's right-hand man, I knew everything there was to… to know about the systems and technology he had. I hacked into his… his main system and sent a black-out throughout the entire country that I was in. I then sent out Mitch and Robin to find several people who could join the… the Rogues."

"How did you know Mitch and Robin beforehand?" Bianca asks.

"They were servants in the main X-mansion. They helped me escape, actually."

I don't bother asking what the X-mansion was. I'm sure they'll tell us later.

"Robin and Mitch gathered several people- kids, some younger than 15-," he gives Robin a playful glare, to which she smiles sheepishly, "And we started our own Rebellion group."

"That's great! Um," Bianca goes a bit sheepish as she reddens slightly; I think her voice went even higher as she spoke, "So, where's John Jr?"

I roll my eyes playfully; of course, her little puppy crush.

I frown suddenly when I see the grim look on his face, and it hits me:

John Jr died in the Takeover. I take on an expression of horror as Bianca and Benny realize it too. John Jr may have been a silent, secretive person but we had all loved him for it. I clear my throat, and try to speak after a small silence.

"Umm, so, err, are _we_ allowed to join the Rogues, Professor Utonium Sr?" I ask to lighten the mood. He smiles at me, almost gratefully, and speaks again.

"We'll see. But for now, no one can know about your powers, ok?"

I nod understandingly, but Robin and the girls beside look at him confused.

"Why not?" Bianca asks, cocking her head to the side.

"Because it'll spread everywhere. Even… if the Rogues promise to keep it a secret, somehow it'll flood out and… X will realize that we have you guys here. Then he'll do anything to… kill you, even if it means bombing us," is John Sr's response, but something bugs me about it.

"What do you mean bombing us? You mean he knows where you guys camp out?"

"Well, he knows that we are in Green's region. I stayed in his Kingdom because Green is very… temperamental and pigheaded. If it had gone his way, X would have bombed the entire pipeline since he knows that we're in it. However… even it's just a pipeline, Green would not allow any part of his Kingdom to be damaged… unless it was his own doing or command. He was… too stubborn to even let them search the pipes. So, we're safe… for now."

I nod. He refers to the regions that the superhuman boys own as Kingdoms, so R.K. must stand for Red Kingdom. I shiver; my homeland belongs to a superhuman boy that goes by Red.

I also note that John Sr specifically said "you guys" instead of just super-powered children. But perhaps it was just a grammar mistake.

"But wait, if the boys woke up after five years, why did we take ten?" Benny asks.

I turn to John Sr. That was a good question. Considering that we were older and we had been affected by the chemical, shouldn't we have taken a small amount of time?

John Sr looks down, thinking hard.

"I truly don't know." One look at his face and I can tell he's not lying.

"Well, can we at least tell Mitch about the girls? He deserves to know, he's head-in-command… well, other than you," Robin adds with a slight blush. I cock my head, looking at her in thought. She blushed at the mention of Mitch? I wonder…

"Yes, I suppose you can tell him. Mitch is many things: Annoying, arrogant… naïve… stubborn, childish… overly competitive…" John Sr trails off as his eyebrows narrow at the mention of the boy; we all giggle slightly before he continues, "But he is not a loudmouth. I guess it is… important that he knows."

Robin nods, almost eagerly (I notice that she curses inwardly when it shows), and stands up, replacing her small bit of happiness with her lips in a tight line. She turns to us, and gives a small smile.

"I'm really sorry that I freaked out earlier. Royals are just really irritating, and I wasn't sure that I could trust you entirely. I hope that you can forgive me."

Surprisingly, Benny is the first to apologize.

"It's alright, I just overreacted. I will admit, you have spunk. Some of your comebacks were good," She says, smirking and nodding in approval. Robin smirks back, and turns to the door.

"I should probably go tell freckle-face. I'll pick you guys back up afterwards, if you still have questions for head-in-command," she looks at Benny again, "Or in this case, Long Johns." With that, she walks out the door.

"Oh, that little Robin. She… and Mitch like each other immensely, though they're too stupid to admit it," John Sr says with a shake of his head, and my thoughts are confirmed.

"So tell me, what can you do with your powers?"

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><p><strong>I thought it would be good to leave it there. I know, a lot of things are not explained, but they will be later on. Were there any mistakes in there? Hmm, don't know. But I hope you guys liked it! Review please, they make me happeh!<strong>


	3. Emotionless

**Hiiiiii! I'm still alive! I know, another slow update, but my family opened a restaurant and I was busy! So, I hope this small peek will make up for something!**

**Answers to reviews:**

**MewbladeXxX****: Really, you liked it? Yay! And I hope you enjoy the sneak peek of the boys!**

**Aurelei:**** I know, right? That's kind of what I was going for… No one understands what the heck is going on so far.**

**babyflowers****: You really think so? Thanks! I also like your name, by the way!**

**Hopelessly Awaiting****: Really? Is it because she took on that accent that you laughed? Yeah, I think it's funny, too. Generic… I honestly don't get that, "Sweatdrop." But I'm sure it's something good, lol! Hope you enjoy the chap!**

**raelover123****: You really like it? YES! That's great, considering you're like one of my greatest friends on this site! I hope you keep reading!**

**princesskk101****: I updated! Lol, hope you enjoy! Love your name, by the way.**

**Now, onto the story!**

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><p>A few minutes after Robin had returned we had wished John Sr a merry farewell and left.<p>

"So, are we going to get a tour of the Rogue pipeline?" Benny asks. I smile subconsciously and observe our surroundings while Robin answers. We're still in a hallway, but we are a bit far from John Sr's room. I hear a sniffle, and turn to see Bianca, red-faced and slightly teary. I frown in empathy.

Her crush, the silent and suave John Jr, _died_. Even worse, he had been _killed._ It had taken a toll on all of us, but it had affected Bianca the most by far. I look down, wondering how I can cheer Bianca up.

"Oh, sure you can have a tour. Over there is a hallway, and another hallway is down there, and a third hallway is right in front of us. There, you got a tour," Robin says playfully. Benny narrows her eyes, but smiles none the less.

"In all honesty, there isn't much to show you. We mainly just have basics: a cafeteria, a meeting room, hundreds of bedroom hallways with several unoccupied," Robin lists off. All the while, Benny's eyes grow wider.

"What? No game room, no party room, no sit-down-and-be-lazy room? You don't even have a snack room?"

Robin shakes her head. "I don't think we really have time for that. Most of the time we're either plotting, recruiting, causing havoc or patrolling for spies," She responds as though it's not a problem.

"_WHAT?_ That needs to be changed. You guys better be grateful for getting super-powered recruits. We will build these rooms _ourselves_ if we have to!" Bianca preaches.

I slowly sigh, a smile tugging at my lips. Bianca is bouncing back surprisingly quickly; I'm happy. But then again, Bianca can never stay upset for long. I don't think she can pull it off.

Robin looks at us surprised for a moment, then does something unexpected; looks to the ceiling and screams with joy.

"YES! I _knew_ having super-powered comrades would benefit to us in a selfish way!" She squeals.

"Shh, Shh! We don't want people to hear us!" I snicker.

"Alright, first things first. You guys need to see your rooms, the cafeterias, the vacant pipe-ways, EVERYTHING! Come on!" Robin grabs our arms and pulls us off who-knows-where.

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><p>Destruction. It's all I've seen. It's all I've known. It's all I've done… It's all I've felt. I've watched, <em>I've <em>_**caused**_, several deaths that occur almost day. The funny part is, I seem to like it. Or do I? I don't even know anymore. Sometimes, I don't even feel like I, myself, am here. Who am I? What year is it? Why are my hands covered in this pure, red liquid, I sometimes ask myself; then I realize. This is 2022, I am Red, ruler of the Red Kingdom, and I… am a killer.

It's quite a bit to take in, really. That is, unless you've known this all your life. Which I have; almost _all_ of my life I've been a killer. I've ended peoples' lives both physically and mentally. Sometimes I've done both at once. But I never had a second thought, I never looked back as their carcass fell to their weeping families. Even with my back turned, I could _feel _their unforgiving, loathing glares. But I didn't care.

Did I?

No, not at all.

Never.

Not once.

They say I can't feel; I'm heartless. But I can feel. I used to feel bad; used to be horrified at the thought of killing. But mortals? They're all like _**X**_. Disgusting creatures that think of you as monsters. Disgusting monsters that took away my life. Monsters like _**X**_**. **X, the man that ruined my life. They all ruined my life, and I'm merely returning the favor.

Suddenly, the vibrations in the floor tell me that someone is here and I'm snapped out of my thoughts. There is a curt knock on the door of my room before the person carelessly opens it. I barely have time to roll my eyes at their imprudence before they speak.

"Brick, come. We need to talk in the meeting room."

Speak of the devil. I turn around ready to snap at him for calling me by my real name, but X's back is facing me, and I stare at his jet black leather jacket with the collar up past his neck. A pure white X is etched in the middle of it. As he click-clacks down the hallway away from me, I sneer and float behind, closing my door behind me. We travel down a few hallways, make several turns, and right when I'm about to make an impatient sigh, we've stopped right before the entrance. The door is actually two doors that separate automatically.

My sneer grows deeper at the giant white X on the door. But all doors have the bright, almost blinding snow white signature on it. It is X's Main Mansion, after all.

I stiffly walk past X and settle myself on a puffy leather chair at the edge of the rectangular glass table. It's my signature color; red. I look at the two empty leather chairs a bit further from me. One's a dark blue and the other a forest green. My brothers have not arrived yet. I watch as X patiently seats himself at the black leather chair across from me at the other edge of the table, but I quickly turn away as he meets my gaze. He quietly chuckles at my behavior, but with my hearing it still reaches my ears.

Despite this, his skin is slightly pale and he taps his fingers on the glass table. At first I thought this was impatience, but it's starting to seem more like nervousness. What could he be worried about? I shake my head and my short red hair swishes. I don't care. Why should I? It's not like he ever does. Or did.

The door is kicked from its hinges and I don't even need to glance to the doorframe to know who it is.

"Whaddya want, X?" spits the gruff voice of my brother, Green, or Butch.

"Such an impudent child. Is that any way to greet your father?" X says smoothly, and Green-Butch-'s face reddens in anger.

"_Answer the question_, _**X**_."

"Oh, come on. You know how much your brother hates being left out. Let us wait until he arrives."

Surely enough, Blue, or Boomer, enters minutes later, looking at X warily. As you can tell, we all are not very fond of X. He's not my father; I know that for a fact. Superpowers are not normal, and we all know that. I can't remember my old family; my powers aren't that strong, yet. And I can forget asking my brothers. So what vexes me most is the feeling in the back of my mind that X did this to us. Did something to give us powers. But what? Speaking of him, Butch is yelling at him once more.

"Alright, now speak up! Why are we here?"

"How impatient," X mockingly scolds, but I notice that his tapping has become more fervent and I can't help wondering what really is going on. Then he speaks.

"Now, anyway, something… possibly alarming has occurred. There are people that were basically _saturated_ in the potion that gives you your powers now a few years ago," my back straightens in slight interest as he continues, "We've tried holding them back, but they've escaped our most recent attack. Based on research, they've been identified as disfigured, deformed people. But despite this, they are still a threat."

My mind races. There are others like us? Despite the fact that they are disfigured and we have to kill them, the thought is comforting. Note the sarcasm.

"Despite their… Disabilities, if they get into the hands of the Rogues, who knows what could happen. With the help of John Utonium, they might make these people real opponents."

This is where I slowly start to zone out of his talking, leaving his world with one roll of the eyes. So what if John Utonium was a genius? That doesn't mean he can fix the highly impaired with his playground of kids.

X has stressed too much over Utonium since he escaped. Maybe John had been a more important asset than I thought, but even so, X really freaks out sometimes. I can't really feel for him, though; it _was_ his fault that Utonium escaped. Then again, I've _never_ felt for X.

I've never felt at all.

At least, not in the eyes of some.

With that thought, I give my signature smirk and speak for the first time in the room.

"It's like you said, X. These people are maimed; impaired; disfigured. John Utonium is one man upon a pile of children. He can't do everything. And let's not forget that he doesn't have high-tech materials like us. We'll be fine," I cockily state.

All eyes turn to me, as though everyone's just realizing that I'm here. I simply raise an eyebrow at each one of them, daring them to counter my statement. Slowly X's tapping stops, but he stills looks uneasy as he consents.

"As logical as your reasoning may be, I still want you to go down to where they are, and kill them when found. In their state, they can't go far in one day."

I groan in slight annoyance. Do I really have to go and track down deformed humans? I sneer, but sigh in defeat anyways.

"Fine, where are they?"

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I slowly raise an eyebrow at the hideous sight before me. This ocean looks nothing like a regular ocean. First of all, the sky is orange. Let me say that again. Orange. Could anyone tell me that the average sky at _2:00 in the afternoon_ is _orange_? Not to mention that the ocean reflects it, making it an ugly orange-dark oil color. It almost makes me shiver. Almost. Considering that I can't shiver. Considering that shivering is a form of fear.

Considering that I can't feel fear.

Considering I can't feel at all.

At least, not in the eyes of most.

My brothers and I glide over the ocean, scoping the murky water for anything that should tip us off. I pass several mechanical things that confuse me. Needle-nosed, long metal fish that float lifelessly on the surface (I can dimly see speckles of blood on the tips). Rusty, steel killer whales with razor-sharp tail claws. Even scattered, leftover scraps of mechanical piranha with vicious-looking teeth are seen floating around the ocean. But it's the one small, metal piranha floating in the waters -with his mouth open and facing the sky- that freaks Boomer out; why? It's flinching and jerking, as though it's still in network. I shoot a laser and it's gone in a poof of dust.

Why are there so many metallic creatures out here? I know for a fact that these are X's creations; the technology is too high-tech to be anyone else's doing. But why did he make these? And why are they all in _this_ ocean?

"Hey, guys!" Blue calls, and we all turn to him as he hovers to a tiny object floating about the surface.

I raise an eyebrow, and fly to him as he picks up the small object.

"It looks like cloth. Maybe this is from one of the people X was talking about. It looks like it was ripped from their clothes," he suggests, and I snatch it from him. Boomer always had a knack for spotting the smallest of things.

I examine the small cloth, then the next thing I realize is my eyes are blurry from some liquid filling in. My lip is quivering uncontrollably and it takes me several seconds before I can force my face to go blank once more.

What just happened?

Did I… just cry?

A strange sound escaping my lips that I can only assume as a sob confirms my thoughts.

My brothers have strangely missed the small moment as they both stare at the cloth, perplexed. I then suddenly feel the urge to hide the piece of clothing away from my brothers; to protect it. But why? Why am I _feeling_? **Why?**

"Hey, Red. Red? RED?" Green urges, and I'm forced back to reality. Butch has rarely ever called me Brick, unlike Blue sometimes, and I'm glad.

I look to him, and give him a scowl that is normal to him and everyone else, but somewhat broken to me.

"Yes, Green?"

"We found something else," He nods over to something floating further over. I warily float towards it, and narrow my eyebrows in confusion –if you could consider it a feeling- once I see it; a horribly destroyed metallic shark.

"What?" I whisper as I rub a hand over its top. This shark is not old, but it's been ripped in half. I notice that the bolts that connect its mouth are missing, and the engravings of a strong hand shows on the tip of both of its lips. What happened here?

Boomer's head emerges beside me from the water, but I look to him, unfazed. He looks at me, a serious and completely confused look on his face as he motions for me to come under. I dive down beside me, and he leads me to another shocking sight; a second metal shark.

This one is not ripped, but it has been _pummeled_ to a _pulp_. I see many fist marks in its, and I can barely identify it as a steel shark more than scrap metal. How did this…

_We've tried holding them back, but they've escaped our most recent attack. _

Well, that explains the piranhas and the fish. But this "escape" was nothing that I would've expected. It seems more an ambush. And Boomer does nothing to help when he speaks, his voice vibrating across the waves of the ocean.

"I'm not so sure that these disfigured people are so… disfigured."

8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&

"What do you _mean_ you couldn't find them? You can't find a couple of _IMPAIRED INHUMANS_?"

I lowly growl at X.

"Are you insane? These IMPAIRED INHUMANS are-"

I cut Butch off. I don't think we should tell X about the destroyed sharks _yet_. We could be able to use this against him.

"Already miles from where we found the sharks that they escaped. Trust me, we searched _everywhere_."

"Well I expected better from you boys. Especially you, Red." He turns to me and my fist turns slightly red as I clench them even harder.

I turn and leave the room, ignoring X's shouts and bellows.

I slam the door to my room and jump onto the bed. I'm not angry. I'm. Not. Angry.

I reach into my pocket, and pull out the cloth we found at the ocean. It's salty smell immediately reaches my nose as I stare intensely at it. What did this cloth do to me? Why does it feel like part of me? Why does it bring out… emotions? I automatically decide no one can see this cloth. I know that my brothers have already forgotten about it, but no one else can see it. No one can see that it brings out feelings.

Because I don't have feelings.

I never have.

At least, not in the eyes of all.

* * *

><p><strong>Ehhhhhhhhhhhhh? You guys like? I know it's really short. But I haven't updated in forever! Besides, this is just a sneak peek of the boys' lives…. A really. Short. Segment. Of the boys' lives. If you want, I'll include more in the next chapter, but I really wanted to get an update up. I hope you guys liked!<strong>

**P.S- That cloth that Brick has was ripped off of Blossom's dress. **

**P.P.S- Notice how Brick fluctuates from calling Butch and Boomer by their real names and their fake ones?**

**P.P.P.S- Also notice that little thing I did with him not having feelings? Look at the last sentence; did you notice that he said something different at the end each time?**


	4. I'm sorry to say this, but

I hate to say this, but…

I'm discontinuing Extraction.

I'M REALLY, REALLY SORRY! I barely have any followers, but I deeply apologize to them all. I don't know what happened, I guess I just lost interest, but I can't write it anymore. It almost feels like a chore, and that's not how you're supposed to feel when you're writing something!

So, I'm letting this story go. It had some potential, and who knows, I might pick it up later, but for now this is goodbye.

Sorry, guys!


	5. I'm Baaaack

Remember me? The girl who ditched this potentially spontaneous story? Yeah. You guys are probably looking at this new update like: _What the heck? I thought this girl was dead!_

Well, not yet!

I'm here to tell you, (even though I wanted to keep it secret), that_ Extraction_ has been saved! Whoo!

You know the author I dedicated this to? daziyly? She's continuing it! Talk about happy endings, right?! However, don't expect weekly updates: seriously. daziyly seems to going through some serious writer's block right now, so I only have one chapter from her. Honestly, this planning has been going on for months, but there was a lapse of time when we didn't speak.

I still need to edit the chapter she gave me, but expect it to come within the next few days (maybe even today if I have the time).

Also, do you guys think I should fix the rest of the story? It would take much longer, but I think it looks a little crappy right now. _**PLEASE TELL ME IF I SHOULD FIX IT OR NOT.**_

And yes, I know today was a school day, but I'm sick, so I had to stay back. I won't go into excruciatingly embarrassing details.

But, be happy! _Extraction _is back on!

P.S- have any of my followers read _The Scattered Region_? I wonder why Romantic-Flights hasn't updated recently.

P.P.S- _**READ THIS PLEASE!**_

I'm planning on writing this novel. It's a dystopian society where trees have been demolished and there are only a few forests left. This started off as a school project, but I saw it's potential as a real story. I would appreciate it if you guys could read the excerpt on my page and answer my poll on whether it's good or not. If you want, you could even message me on things I should fix!


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